A Court of Dusk and Shadows

CHAPTER NINETEEN: SHADOWS, SYRUP AND STOLEN MOMENTS

This happy chappy is dedicated to @st4arctic 💙

Rhysand sat there the next day, a statue of icy disapproval.

Not a muscle flinched in his sculpted face, yet that silence pulsed with a fury more threatening than any shouted reprimand. His violet eyes narrowed in displeasure as he fixed each of them with a scrutinizing glare.

Ileana couldn't help but glance down the line as well.

Nesta, as fierce and cold as ever. But even there, Ileana glimpsed a tightness in her stance, a subtle shift in her usual unflappable confidence. Gwyn and Emerie stood rigidly at attention to her left, every wound a badge of honor on their bruised skin. Mor and Feyre were eerily poised; their gazes distant to cover the flicker of apprehension.  And on her right...

Ileana tried not to focus on him. Her own heart did a painful little backflip at the sight of those hazel eyes now shadowed with exhaustion.  She couldn't read them, and with everything else swirling through her, not knowing him felt like she'd misplaced a vital piece of herself. Yet, even through her turmoil, there was a glimmer of relief – relief he seemed whole, even if their connection was currently as shattered and jagged as his voice had been before she'd blacked out.

Next to him, Elain shifted uneasily, and Ileana found a strange comfort in the fact she wasn't the only one struggling with that uncomfortable mix of emotions. It wasn't guilt, exactly, just...everything felt so incredibly messy and raw.  There was an ache in her side, a constant reminder. There was an ache in her heart too, but... that she had no name for, and even less experience with.

Cassian, probably for the first time, was not on the receiving end of Rhys's ire. Instead, he stood by the High Lord's side, leaning against a bookshelf. A ghost of a grin flickered across his handsome face. His gaze locked with Ileana's, and just when she thought the absurdity of the whole situation would overwhelm her, he gave the subtlest wink. The giggle bubbled up within her then, not from mockery but a desperate sort of release. There was no way that they would escape this without repercussions. May as well enjoy a moment of levity as it was fleeting.  Just when she thought she could smother the inappropriate snort bubbling up within her, a frigid voice snapped.

"And what, pray tell, is so amusing, Princess?"

It felt like the very temperature in the room plummeted alongside the disapproval in Rhysand's tone.

Ileana swallowed back another bubble of inappropriate laughter. It felt wrong, disrespectful even, but with each beat of Rhysand's icy silence, the absurdity escalated. Maybe it was the healing potions. Things seemed both too sharp and too fuzzy - the sunlight piercing through the window was oddly aggressive, and the polished grain of Rhysand's desk held a strangely hypnotizing allure. It occurred to her that perhaps his power manifested itself in his furniture.

Her focus snapped back to those piercing violet eyes. The High Lord himself seemed less intimidating than the very stillness holding the entire room hostage. And that was all Ileana needed. The giggle she'd tried to stifle for so long broke free in a joyous burst. Not at him, not even at the ridiculousness of the situation, but just...because. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but to her utter surprise, her body continued to shake with silent laughter. Then, it happened.

"Honestly? It's just such a relief to be alive! Especially after, well..."  she gestured vaguely. "Maybe you could, maybe lighten up a little..."

The sound of Cassian's choked snort almost sent her into another bout of hysterics, quickly snuffed out by Rhysand's voice. Cold darkness surged at Rhysand's fingertips, snuffing out the intrusive sunlight and making even Azriel's shadows shiver in retreat. The sudden darkness amplified the violet fury pulsing in his eyes. Every single warrior seemed to collectively twitch, the years of instinctual reflexes preparing them for whatever would unfold in the seconds to follow.